The Empire of The Kop https://www.empireofthekop.com Blog about Liverpool F.C. (LFC) and the Kop from true supporters for supporters worldwide. Fri, 19 Apr 2024 08:20:26 +0100 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.9 95610221 ‘What does that tell us…’ – Carragher takes aim at two PL clubs in riposte to Liverpool’s critics https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/carragher-reaction-liverpool-bottlers-jibe/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/carragher-reaction-liverpool-bottlers-jibe/#respond Fri, 19 Apr 2024 08:20:26 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253231 Jamie Carragher has bitten back at accusations that Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in the run-in to the season by comparing the Reds’ overall performance for the campaign to two clubs in particular. It was just over a month ago that Jurgen Klopp’s side were still in contention for four trophies this term, but subsequent exits […]

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Jamie Carragher has bitten back at accusations that Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in the run-in to the season by comparing the Reds’ overall performance for the campaign to two clubs in particular.

It was just over a month ago that Jurgen Klopp’s side were still in contention for four trophies this term, but subsequent exits from the FA Cup and Europa League, in addition to slipping behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race, threaten to see the German’s reign peter out to an anti-climax.

However, in his latest column for The Telegraph, the 46-year-old insisted that his former club and Arsenal deserve praise for how they’ve competed with Pep Guardiola’s side, pointing to how that duo have performed in comparison to Manchester United and Chelsea, who sit seventh and ninth respectively.

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Carragher wrote: “If Arsenal and Liverpool are ‘bottling it’ in April and May, what does that tell us about Manchester United and Chelsea for the rest of the season? 

“They are clubs which have made so many poor decisions they are nowhere near the required level, albeit Pochettino is in the process of trying to fix previous mistakes.

“Arteta and Klopp are being judged to the ultimate standard in taking on Guardiola. City are so freakishly good with resources beyond Arsenal and Liverpool, the fairest reference point is with United and Chelsea, especially, who have spent mega millions for a watching brief in the race for the top four at this point in the season.”

READ MORE: ‘Put him in Liverpool’s team’ – Ex-Arsenal striker says Premier League ace would be an upgrade on Reds 24y/o

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp admits 90-touch Liverpool wizard ran ‘out of gas’ during second half v Atalanta

Liverpool fans know better than anyone that there’s no shame in coming up narrowly second best to Man City when their financial resources are vastly superior (and when they can rack up 115 Financial Fair Play charges without a care in the world!).

Rival supporters will inevitably indulge in tribal nonsense on social media whereby they try to label the teams who fall slightly short of winning the Premier League as ‘bottlers’, when in the cases of United and Chelsea they may be best advised to get their own houses in order first.

It’s not wholly implausible that those two clubs could miss out on European football altogether for next season, even with the Red Devils accruing a net transfer spend of more than £1bn since 2014 but having not so much as a title challenge to show for it, and the Blues posting just over £650m for the same metric in two chaotic years of Todd Boehly’s ownership thus far.

Annoyingly, Liverpool won only one of their four league games against that pair this term despite being a far superior team, but even if we miss out on domestic glory again, at least we can be thankful that our club is much more competently run than the Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge basket cases of recent years.

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‘Put him in Liverpool’s team’ – Ex-Arsenal striker says EPL ace would be an upgrade on Reds 24y/o https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/bendtner-andersen-konate-upgrade-liverpool/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/bendtner-andersen-konate-upgrade-liverpool/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2024 07:44:45 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253228 Nicklas Bendtner has taken aim at one Liverpool player who he accused of being ‘so slow on the ball’ and believes that the Reds would find an upgrade from within the Premier League. The former Arsenal striker was speaking on the Stolpe Ind podcast when he gave a withering assessment of Ibrahima Konate, with the ex-Denmark international […]

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Nicklas Bendtner has taken aim at one Liverpool player who he accused of being ‘so slow on the ball’ and believes that the Reds would find an upgrade from within the Premier League.

The former Arsenal striker was speaking on the Stolpe Ind podcast when he gave a withering assessment of Ibrahima Konate, with the ex-Denmark international citing his compatriot Joachim Anderson of Crystal Palace as a superior centre-back.

The 36-year-old said of the Eagles defender: “Now, I like to make [a proposal] where we put him in Liverpool’s team instead of Konate. [Konate] is so slow on the ball and has no idea where to play it. There, you can argue for what he is doing there versus the fact that Joachim could play there.”

READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp admits 90-touch Liverpool wizard ran ‘out of gas’ during second half v Atalanta

READ MORE: One moment from £120k-p/w Liverpool player had Steve McManaman’s blood boiling last night

Andersen – who’s lost just once in his four visits to Anfield with Fulham and Palace – was superb for the Eagles in their win away to Liverpool last Sunday, making a whopping 13 clearances for Oliver Glasner’s side (Sofascore).

It comes as no surprise that he ranks among the top 8% of centre-backs in Europe’s five main leagues for that particular metric over the past year, averaging 5.3 per game (FBref).

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Although the Denmark defender is someone we’d certainly welcome if he were to be linked with the Reds, we don’t go along with Bendtner’s criticism of Konate’s use of the ball.

The 24-year-old has the joint-fourth best passing success rate of anyone to start a Premier League match for Liverpool this season (WhoScored), while he’s among the 91st percentile of positional peers in Europe for progressive passes per 90 minutes with 5.54 (FBref).

In a post-Virgil van Dijk world at Anfield, we wouldn’t argue against a possible Andersen-Konate partnership at the back for LFC, but we wouldn’t be tossing the Frenchman out the door just to make way for the Palace defender, despite what Bendtner might say.

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Jurgen Klopp admits 90-touch Liverpool wizard ran ‘out of gas’ during second half v Atalanta https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/klopp-trent-out-of-gas-atalanta/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/klopp-trent-out-of-gas-atalanta/#respond Fri, 19 Apr 2024 06:57:50 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253226 Jurgen Klopp admitted that one Liverpool player who ‘set the tempo’ during the first half against Atalanta on Thursday night ultimately ran ‘out of gas’. The Reds bowed out of the Europa League after failing to overcome the 3-0 deficit from last week’s clash at Anfield, but it wasn’t for the want of trying from […]

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Jurgen Klopp admitted that one Liverpool player who ‘set the tempo’ during the first half against Atalanta on Thursday night ultimately ran ‘out of gas’.

The Reds bowed out of the Europa League after failing to overcome the 3-0 deficit from last week’s clash at Anfield, but it wasn’t for the want of trying from Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was making his first start since 10 February after two months out through injury.

Speaking after last night’s match, the manager conceded that his team were unable to keep up the pace they’d shown prior to half-time, with the vice-captain’s influence waning as the minutes ticked by.

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Klopp said (via liverpoolfc.com): “The biggest problem for us in the second half was that we couldn’t keep that tempo. For us, you saw tonight in Trent Alexander-Arnold which player we didn’t have for a while now.

“As long as he was fresh, together with Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] he set the tempo, the rhythm, the direction of the game. Obviously he was running a bit out of gas [after half-time].”

READ MORE: One moment from £120k-p/w Liverpool player had Steve McManaman’s blood boiling last night

READ MORE: ‘If you look…’ – Ex-Liverpool duo were left raging over first-half moment v Atalanta

Trent’s 72-minute appearance last night was his longest involvement in a match since he played the entirety of the FA Cup win over Arsenal on 7 January (Transfermarkt), and with Liverpool going all-out in the first half as they tried to reel in Atalanta, it was understandable that the 25-year-old ultimately faded.

He was one of the main instigators of the revival that the Reds threatened in the early stages, winning the penalty that Mo Salah converted and bypassing the Nerazzurri press with some pinpoint long-range passing.

As per Sofascore, the vice-captain took 90 touches at the Gewiss Stadium, executing one key pass and finding a teammate with seven long balls. In the words of Paul Gorst, he provided ‘what Liverpool have missed’ recently with his wizardry on the ball.

It was a shame that Trent couldn’t keep up that early tempo beyond half-time as he naturally tired in only his second game back from his two-month injury layoff, and unfortunately the rest of his teammates also seemed to wilt after they re-emerged from the dressing room at the interval.

We now face into a frantic week containing three crucial Premier League fixtures in seven days, but the 25-year-old’s influence should grow even further with each passing appearance as he seeks to deliver a winning send-off for Klopp at Anfield over the next month.

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One moment from £120k-p/w Liverpool player had Steve McManaman’s blood boiling last night https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/mcmanaman-slams-lazy-gakpo-atalanta-liverpool/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/19/mcmanaman-slams-lazy-gakpo-atalanta-liverpool/#respond Fri, 19 Apr 2024 06:24:25 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253225 Steve McManaman was unimpressed with a ‘lazy’ moment from one Liverpool player during the futile win over Atalanta in Bergamo on Thursday night. The Reds won 1-0 in Italy but never truly looked like salvaging a Europa League tie which was ultimately put beyond their reach in a costly 0-3 first leg defeat at Anfield […]

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Steve McManaman was unimpressed with a ‘lazy’ moment from one Liverpool player during the futile win over Atalanta in Bergamo on Thursday night.

The Reds won 1-0 in Italy but never truly looked like salvaging a Europa League tie which was ultimately put beyond their reach in a costly 0-3 first leg defeat at Anfield a week ago.

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Speaking on co-commentary for TNT Sports, the ex-LFC winger was annoyed at Cody Gakpo when, after being moved to the left wing in the second half, the 24-year-old tried to backheel a ball through two opposition players to the onrushing Andy Robertson, only to lose possession and see the home side break up the pitch.

Upon viewing that passage of play, McManaman raged (via TBR Football): “That was Gakpo giving the ball away, with a lazy flick in midfield. Liverpool have to be so much more careful because the way Atalanta play, you will be punished.”

READ MORE: ‘If you look…’ – Ex-Liverpool duo were left raging over first-half moment v Atalanta

READ MORE: Klopp may be quietly satisfied with one part of Liverpool’s night despite Europa League exit

That passage of play perhaps summed up Gakpo’s night against Atalanta – while the £120,000-per-week Dutchman diligently dropped deep into midfield and troubled the opposition at times with his running, ultimately he didn’t do enough when he had the ball.

As per Sofascore, he completed just 17 passes out of 24 attempted (71% success) during his 90 minutes on the pitch and didn’t record a shot all night, while his tally of 17 losses of possession was the third-highest among the Liverpool team.

That moment when he audaciously tried to play the ball to Robertson was overly casual and not what the Reds needed when they were still in search of two goals in the final half-hour of the tie.

While Gakpo most certainly shouldn’t be the fall guy for his side’s gross underperformance throughout both legs of the quarter-final – he was actually one of our better players in the thrashing at Anfield – errors of judgement like the one which enraged McManaman summed up LFC’s sloppiness.

It’s something that Jurgen Klopp’s side will need to correct in their final six games of the season if they’re to give the manager a happy send-off to his time at Liverpool next month.

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Worrying Liverpool trend has emerged from Atalanta win; Klopp will be tearing his hair out https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/worrying-liverpool-trend-after-atalanta-klopp-furious/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/worrying-liverpool-trend-after-atalanta-klopp-furious/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 22:21:30 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253197 A worrying trend has emerged from Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Atalanta in the Europa League. The Merseysiders secured a win in Bergamo – though it wasn’t enough to overturn a three-goal deficit suffered at Anfield – courtesy of Mo Salah’s first-half spot-kick. It was yet the fourth instance, as spotted by Joel Rabinowitz on X, […]

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A worrying trend has emerged from Liverpool’s 1-0 victory over Atalanta in the Europa League.

The Merseysiders secured a win in Bergamo – though it wasn’t enough to overturn a three-goal deficit suffered at Anfield – courtesy of Mo Salah’s first-half spot-kick.

It was yet the fourth instance, as spotted by Joel Rabinowitz on X, of the Reds failing to score a goal from open play.

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READ MORE: Why Klopp had to tell off Alisson Becker in the first-half vs Atalanta

READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano just dropped Jamal Musiala news amid serious Liverpool interest

Liverpool must buck worrying trend against Fulham

Frightening stuff, all things considered – especially given that we’re still in with a chance of ending the season with one further piece of silverware.

How on earth can we expect the Reds to achieve that extremely difficult task, however, if our forward line has completely misplaced their shooting boots?

Jurgen Klopp has only six games left as Liverpool boss – (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

It’s a lot to ask of everyone at this stage of the season, but if we can dig into that mythical well for just the next six games, we could deliver a season actually worthy of the manager.

For Jurgen lads, come on.

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(Video) What Klopp did with Mac Allister at full-time will melt Liverpool fans’ hearts https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/klopp-mac-allister-full-time/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/klopp-mac-allister-full-time/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:57:05 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253216 Liverpool fans are coming to terms with the fact that our season is rapidly falling apart and Jurgen Klopp’s interaction with one of his players showed how it’s affecting them all. Cameras captured the moment the boss shared a hug with Alexis Mac Allister after the full-time whistle, with clear emotion being present. READ MORE: (Video) […]

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Liverpool fans are coming to terms with the fact that our season is rapidly falling apart and Jurgen Klopp’s interaction with one of his players showed how it’s affecting them all.

Cameras captured the moment the boss shared a hug with Alexis Mac Allister after the full-time whistle, with clear emotion being present.

READ MORE: (Video) “The reality is…”: Van Dijk’s honest message to fans and teammates after Europa elimination

Let’s hope that we can quickly turn these results around and soon be back to our winning best, something that will need to happen if we want to try and win the Premier League.

You can view the moment between Klopp and Mac Allister via @CBSSportsGolazo on X:

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(Video) “The reality is…”: Van Dijk’s honest message to fans and teammates after Europa elimination https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/van-dijk-honest-message-elimination/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/van-dijk-honest-message-elimination/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:47:09 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253202 It was a competition we seemed destined to win and were favourites to do so but Liverpool are out of the Europa League and Virgil van Dijk faced the cameras. Speaking with TNT Sports, our captain said: “The reality is that we’re out and we have to quickly, very quickly, turn this around.” READ MORE: (Video) Salah […]

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It was a competition we seemed destined to win and were favourites to do so but Liverpool are out of the Europa League and Virgil van Dijk faced the cameras.

Speaking with TNT Sports, our captain said: “The reality is that we’re out and we have to quickly, very quickly, turn this around.”

READ MORE: (Video) Salah misses chipped chance to double Liverpool lead before half time

It’s the reaction that we’ve been crying out for over several games and weeks now but time is running out if we want to try and win the league.

Dreams of a quadruple and treble are gone, a double is all that remains and it seems we’ll have to win every game left in front of us for a chance of achieving it – something our recent performances haven’t suggested we will do.

You can watch Van Dijk’s comments via @footballontnt on X:

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‘If you look…’ – Ex-Liverpool duo were left raging over first-half moment v Atalanta tonight https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/crouch-mcallister-hien-handball-atalanta-liverpool/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/crouch-mcallister-hien-handball-atalanta-liverpool/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:44:18 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253212 Liverpool bowed out of Europe with a whimper as their 1-0 win away to Atalanta tonight wasn’t enough to undo the damage of last week’s 0-3 defeat at Anfield. However, some Reds fans may be left wondering if things might’ve worked out differently had the referee taken a different view of one moment in the […]

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Liverpool bowed out of Europe with a whimper as their 1-0 win away to Atalanta tonight wasn’t enough to undo the damage of last week’s 0-3 defeat at Anfield.

However, some Reds fans may be left wondering if things might’ve worked out differently had the referee taken a different view of one moment in the first half at the Gewiss Stadium.

Shortly before half-time, Isak Hien was booked for handball as he cut out what could’ve been a gilt-edged chance for Luis Diaz, who argued that the Nerazzurri defender ought to have been sent off for denying what he felt was a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Speaking on punditry duty for TNT Sports, ex-LFC striker Peter Crouch raged (via Liverpool Echo): “I was screaming for a red card straight away. You can see he leans into the ball.

“There was a definite move of the arm, and I think Diaz is going in here. I think he takes the touch across him. I think that should be a red card. If you look here, he leans right into it and I don’t think the player is covering behind him.”

Fellow pundit and former Liverpool player Gary McAllister shared the Englishman’s indignation, saying: “I think it is denying a goal-scoring opportunity. If it gets to Diaz without the handball, I think his first touch is taking it towards the middle of the goal and away from the covering centre-back. You could argue that it should be a red.”

READ MORE: Klopp may be quietly satisfied with one part of Liverpool’s night despite Europa League exit

READ MORE: Paul Gorst hails ‘unbelievable’ player who provided ‘what Liverpool have missed’ v Atalanta

Referee François Letexier would’ve been within his rights to have sent Hien for an early bath, as the Atalanta defender quite deliberately handled the ball and prevented Diaz from being put through clean on goal.

Had the Sweden international been shown a red card, or had the Liverpool attacker got to the ball and gone on to double his team’s lead on the night, the second half could’ve had a very different feel to it. Imagine if the home side were trying to hang on with 10 men, or the Reds needed only one goal after the interval.

That incident has left a sense of ‘what if’ over our Europa League exit, but the harsh truth is that we simply didn’t do enough over the two games to deserve anything other than quarter-final elimination, having only played well during the first half tonight and been downright putrid at Anfield a week ago.

We could argue all night that Hien should’ve been sent off, but LFC still had 45-50 minutes to find two more goals and frankly didn’t look like scoring even one.

Europe is done – let’s make sure we don’t have any regrets over the final six matches of our Premier League campaign between now and 19 May.

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(Photo) Liverpool fans’ hearts will break at most depressing Klopp snap ever taken https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/liverpool-fan-hearts-will-break-depressing-klopp-photo/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/liverpool-fan-hearts-will-break-depressing-klopp-photo/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:20:15 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253207 Is there a sight more depressing that Jurgen Klopp appearing sapped of belief? We’d venture this one will take some beating as Liverpool shuffled out of the Europa League with a whimper despite defeating Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo. The Merseysiders were in need of at least three goals to take the tie the distance but […]

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Is there a sight more depressing that Jurgen Klopp appearing sapped of belief?

We’d venture this one will take some beating as Liverpool shuffled out of the Europa League with a whimper despite defeating Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo.

The Merseysiders were in need of at least three goals to take the tie the distance but failed to capitalise on Mo Salah’s first-half penalty in Italy.

A second-half so immensely lacklustre it’s probably better not being spoken about followed, leaving the travelling support short-changed ahead of their return trip to L4.

What a disappointing end to Klopp’s European journey with Liverpool. This wasn’t supposed to be the way it ended with our affable tactician, was it?

You can catch the photo below, courtesy of Empire’s X account:

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At long last: Klopp may be quietly satisfied with one part of Liverpool’s night despite Europa exit https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/liverpool-clean-sheet-streak-europe/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/liverpool-clean-sheet-streak-europe/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:11:27 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253208 Liverpool’s Europa League campaign has ended with a sobering anti-climax as they were eliminated by Atalanta in the quarter-finals tonight. The Reds won the second leg in Bergamo but it wasn’t enough to take them through after they left themselves too much to do in losing 0-3 at Anfield last week, and the second half […]

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Liverpool’s Europa League campaign has ended with a sobering anti-climax as they were eliminated by Atalanta in the quarter-finals tonight.

The Reds won the second leg in Bergamo but it wasn’t enough to take them through after they left themselves too much to do in losing 0-3 at Anfield last week, and the second half performance in Italy was that of a flat and tired team.

However, once the disappointment of the result subsides, Jurgen Klopp may be privately pleased with one aspect of his side’s 1-0 victory at the Gewiss Stadium.

It meant that Liverpool kept their first clean sheet in 10 matches since they won by the same scoreline – in far more joyous circumstances – away to Nottingham Forest on 2 March.

READ MORE: Paul Gorst hails ‘unbelievable’ player who provided ‘what Liverpool have missed’ v Atalanta

READ MORE: (Video) Alisson well and truly back as he pulls off incredible save; didn’t know it’d be offside

On a personal level, Alisson Becker will be quietly satisfied with managing a shutout in just his second game back from injury, and he was credited with two saves in ensuring that Liverpool didn’t concede in Bergamo.

He also produced one exquisite stop during the first half when reacting sharply to keep the ball out of his net after Virgil van Dijk inadvertently skewed it, although any goal from that passage of play would’ve been disallowed as there was an offside in the build-up.

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In the overall context, the 1-0 scoreline will be of no comfort to the Reds as their hopes of reaching the final in Dublin were ended, although those were effectively extinguished by their turgid performance in the first leg a week ago.

If Liverpool were to bow out of Europe, at least they did it by winning and keeping a clean sheet. That offers something to build upon for our final six matches of the season, all of which will be in the Premier League, in which we’re still in the title race despite a couple of recent setbacks.

Let’s go all-out to give Klopp one last trophy next month!

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(Video) Watch what Tsimikas and Mo Salah were spotted doing at HT vs Atalanta https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/what-tsimikas-and-salah-spotted-doing-ht-atalanta/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/what-tsimikas-and-salah-spotted-doing-ht-atalanta/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 20:06:55 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253187 Mo Salah was left shrugging his frustrations after a half-time chat with Kostas Tsimikas. The Greek international was spotted deep in conversation with the Egyptian King with the Reds entering the break in the lead at 1-0. It’s unclear whether the pair were discussing the former Roma man’s surprising chipped miss in the first 45 […]

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Mo Salah was left shrugging his frustrations after a half-time chat with Kostas Tsimikas.

The Greek international was spotted deep in conversation with the Egyptian King with the Reds entering the break in the lead at 1-0.

It’s unclear whether the pair were discussing the former Roma man’s surprising chipped miss in the first 45 or the failure to send off an Atalanta player for a blatant denial of a goalscoring opportunity.

Frustrating either way!

You can catch the clip below, courtesy of @fotosynde:

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Paul Gorst hails ‘unbelievable’ player who’s providing ‘what Liverpool have missed’ v Atalanta https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/gorst-praise-unbelievable-trent-liverpool-atalanta/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/gorst-praise-unbelievable-trent-liverpool-atalanta/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 20:00:40 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253198 Paul Gorst was wowed by an ‘unbelievable’ moment from one Liverpool player during the first half of their Europa League clash against Atalanta tonight. The Reds have shown a drastic improvement from recent games and pulled back one of the three-goal deficit from last week’s first leg with an early Mo Salah penalty. FOLLOW Empire […]

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Paul Gorst was wowed by an ‘unbelievable’ moment from one Liverpool player during the first half of their Europa League clash against Atalanta tonight.

The Reds have shown a drastic improvement from recent games and pulled back one of the three-goal deficit from last week’s first leg with an early Mo Salah penalty.

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The match in Bergamo sees Trent Alexander-Arnold making his first start in over two months, and the vice-captain has looked like he’s never been away, as illustrated by one chance to set up a chance for the visitors.

Half an hour into the game, Gorst tweeted“Unbelievable ball from Alexander-Arnold to get Gakpo away but Salah can’t find Diaz with a threaded ball. That’s what Liverpool have missed while their vice captain has been sidelined though, defence to attack in one pass.”

READ MORE: (Video) Salah tucks away chance to give Liverpool perfect start from the penalty spot

READ MORE: (Video) Alisson well and truly back as he pulls off incredible save; didn’t know it’d be offside

The difference that Trent makes to this Liverpool team has been evident in the first half at the Gewiss Stadium.

As per Sofascore, the 25-year-old completed six accurate long passes before the interval and took a team-high 60 touches, getting involved at every opportunity and regularly unlocking the Atalanta defence.

That ability to create attacks from seemingly nowhere is just what the Reds have been lacking in recent games, and as Gorst says, the vice-captain has quickly provided a string which has been missing from our bow in his absence.

After Liverpool’s slump in the first two weeks of April, Trent’s return from injury could hardly have been more timely.  He looks set to have a massive impact on the team in the final month of the season.

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(Video) Salah misses chipped chance to double Liverpool lead before half time https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/salah-misses-chipped-chance/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/salah-misses-chipped-chance/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:56:08 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253194 It was Mo Salah who opened the first half with a goal and possibly should have closed it with another too, as a huge chance passed him by. The Egyptian King was through on goal and saw the opposition goalkeeper close him down, with an easy decision to chip the stopper being taken. READ MORE: (Video) […]

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It was Mo Salah who opened the first half with a goal and possibly should have closed it with another too, as a huge chance passed him by.

The Egyptian King was through on goal and saw the opposition goalkeeper close him down, with an easy decision to chip the stopper being taken.

READ MORE: (Video) Salah handed chance to give Liverpool perfect start from the spot

Instead of finding the back of the net though, it went way wide from our No.11 and left a two-goal mountain to still be climbed at half time in Bergamo.

You can watch the Salah chance courtesy of beIN Sports (via @AlmedaDufo75613 on X):

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Why Klopp had to tell off Alisson Becker in the first-half vs Atalanta https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/why-klopp-told-off-alisson-first-half-atalanta/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/why-klopp-told-off-alisson-first-half-atalanta/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:39:33 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253186 Alisson Becker had to be reminded of his position during Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Atalanta. Ian Doyle posted on X (formerly Twitter) during the tie in Bergamo, spotting Jurgen Klopp telling off his No.1 for staying too far away from goal. Alisson that far out of his goal that he's in the centre-circle as […]

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Alisson Becker had to be reminded of his position during Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Atalanta.

Ian Doyle posted on X (formerly Twitter) during the tie in Bergamo, spotting Jurgen Klopp telling off his No.1 for staying too far away from goal.

The Merseysiders lead 1-0 at the Gewiss Stadium, courtesy of Mo Salah’s penalty opener, as things currently stand.

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READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano just dropped Jamal Musiala news amid serious Liverpool interest

READ MORE: ‘Final negotiations’: Next Liverpool manager closing in on Anfield move; agent bought apartment

Alisson’s return a huge boost

Caoimhin Kelleher’s contributions in this period shouldn’t be forgotten. The Republic of Ireland international played a key part in ensuring we made it to this stage in the knockouts.

Alisson prior to the clash vs Atalanta – (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)

That said, it simply can’t be argued that Alisson is a class above most ‘keepers in world football. His return to the first-XI, first slotting back in against Crystal Palace, could prove to be the difference between additional silverware and Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour having the wind knocked out of its sails.

Now then… just the small matter of one of the potentially great comebacks in Europe we need to progress to the semi-finals.

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(Video) Salah tucks away chance to give Liverpool perfect start from the penalty spot https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/salah-handed-liverpool-start/ https://www.empireofthekop.com/2024/04/18/salah-handed-liverpool-start/#respond Thu, 18 Apr 2024 19:28:19 +0000 https://www.empireofthekop.com/?p=253180 Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return to the Liverpool team was felt immediately after he first sprayed a long ball to Luis Diaz and then his cross led to a Matteo Ruggeri handball inside the box. It was no surprise to see Mo Salah step up and take the responsibility and it was equally as inevitable the ball […]

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Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return to the Liverpool team was felt immediately after he first sprayed a long ball to Luis Diaz and then his cross led to a Matteo Ruggeri handball inside the box.

It was no surprise to see Mo Salah step up and take the responsibility and it was equally as inevitable the ball ended up inside the back of the net.

READ MORE: (Image) The ‘ramshackle s****y stand’ Liverpool fans are coping with in Italy

It was a beginning to the game that Jurgen Klopp could only dream of and the celebration of picking up the ball and running back to the halfway line showed the mindset of the whole team.

You can watch Salah’s goal via @footballontnt on X:

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